Hoping like heck for good news

Related Media

One of my most memorable cartoon characters isn't Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck or even Sponge Bob Square Pants. I'm not saying he's my favorite, (that would be the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote) but the professor in "Futurama," Hubert J. Farnsworth, always says to the other characters, "Good news, everyone!"

But it never turns out to be good news in the end.

That's a roundabout way of saying I hope a recent business opening in Rifle is indeed good news, the first of many good news stories to tell in the Citizen Telegram this year.

Perhaps some new life was given to the former Columbine Market space with the arrival of the New Year. Vacant for eight years, the Farm Fresh Cafe and Eagle Springs Meats butcher shop began operating in part of that big building.

They're what is hoped to be the first of several tenants, including local vendors and hobbyists who wish to show off and, maybe, sell some of their handcrafted items.

As Toby Guccini, who oversees the Eagle Springs Organic farm and ranch outside Silt and what is being called the Eagle Springs Center in Rifle, told me, plans for the property are designed to offer something different. And who doesn't want a little different every now and then?

Eventually, perhaps a steakhouse will be built near the old grocery store, Guccini said.

There is also a remodeling project under way near the Citizen Telegram office for a barbecued ribs restaurant in Remmington Square, separate from the Eagle Springs Center. We'll tell you about that one when it's ready, too.

Any new business deserves some recognition in times like these. And they're especially welcome as the city's sales tax revenue dropped in the last three quarters of 2012. A year-end report is due to be presented to Rifle City Council in the near future to help show just what the city's financial picture looks like.

I'll be interested in that in light of a recent news release from the Colorado Municipal League, touting a recent survey that found most of the state's towns and cities are doing better than others across the nation in terms of revenue. It'll be interesting to see if Rifle is among them.

So there's some more potential "good news, everyone!" to tell you about. I'm just hoping like heck that this year we'll start to get things back on track.